Learn the History of Western Music in 16 Genres and One Immortal Song

The Internet has been an excellent source of bite-size video music history lessons of late. Last week, we got schooled in rock’s 100 greatest riffs, and today Laughing Squid points us to “An Abridged History of Western Music in 16 Genres.” In this truly remarkable three-minute clip, “musical video experiment” collective cdza feeds the West’s most influential genres through Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” in a slick, one-shot performance beginning with Gregorian chant. The only depressing part is that the video concludes with dubstep — forcing us to consider how embarrassing it would be for humankind if 2012 really is the end of history.